Ventilated shoe



May 18, 1948. RR. GANTT 2,441,879

VENTILATED SHOE Filed NOV. 13, 1945 L9 d w M Q 1 F1101. /7* '2 I I 7 2 29 35 Q5 21 Patented May 18, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFEQE Application November 13, 1945,,Serial No.'628,041.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of ventilated shoes, and in its more specific aspects relates to a device which is incorporated in the heel of a shoe, and which injects a supply of fresh air to and around the foot nature and objects of the invention will be readily recognized and understood -by those skilled in the arts to which it relates in the light of the following explanation and detailed description of the accompanying drawings illustrating what I at present believe to be the preferred embodiments and mechanical expressions of the invention from among various other "forms, arrangements, combinations, and constructions, of which the invention is capable within the spirit and scope thereof. 7

It istherefore an object of my invention to provide a shoe having means therein for automatically-supplying fresh air to and around the foot of the wearer.

Afurther object of my invention is to provide a ventilated .shoe which provides a supply of fresh air 'to the foot of the wearer without in any way distorting the shoe so .as cause discomfort to the wearer.

It is a further objectof my invention to. provide a ventilated shoe in which the apparatus for supplying fresh air to the foot of the wearer isdisposed in the heel of the. shoe.

And yet another object of my invention is to provide a ventilated shoe in which the operating elements of the apparatus for supplying fresh air to the foot of the wearer are disposed in a renewable portion of the heel of the shoe.

Another object of my invention .is to provide a ventilated shoe having fresh air supplying apparatus disposed in the heel of the shoe in sucha manner that no additional or undue wear will occur on the heel.

A further .characteristicof my invention is to provide shoe ventilating means within the heel of ,a shoe which comprises few operating .parts.

.And a further object of my invention is to provide a ventilated shoe which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which may be renewed in the same manner as the present heel isrenewed.

With the foregoing general obiects, features and results in yiew,as well as .certain others which ,will .be apparent from the following explanation,-the invention consists in certain novel features .and designs, construction, mounting e and combination .of elements, as will he more fully and particularly referred to and specified hereafiter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a view in elevation {of the invention with .parts thereof broken .away to .show the vair pumping .orsupplying apparatus.

.Tsig. .2 .is a vertical section .of the heel portion of the wearer; and the of the shoe, with the diaphragm illustrated at the completion of the compression stroke.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of a shoe with portions of the heel thereof removed.

Fig, 4 isa vertical section through the heel portion of a shoe embodying a modified form of my invention- Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in vertical section of the valve mechanism disclosed in Fig. 4 of the drawin s,

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters. of reference desi nate similar parts throughout the several views in the drawings, 1 have used the numeral l to designate the upper of a shoe and the numeral 3 to designate the usual sole thereof. .The heel ,of the shoe, which includes the novel air pumping apparatus which will be described hereinafter, is designated by the num al .5.-

.In order to provide the pumping apparatus with a supply of fresh air, I provide an intake duct 1 in the upper portion I of the shoe at the heel portion thereof.. .As illustrated in the drawings, such intake duct is formed to -.extend from the upper edge of the shoe upper centrally of the heel portion of said shoe, upper to the base or inner sole l0v .of the shoe. The intake duct then exten horizont ly below the inner sole as at 9 to .a point in Substant a ly h e ter f the heel where it extends ve ti ally t u h the upper body port on of the h e and a tu or the like I] is di posed therei and extends therefrom to pr v de a tube extension 13. It will be recognized that fresh air may W into the upper end of the duct 1 for transmission into the heel through the ducts 9 and tube H and the tube extension or exposedfind l3.

The heel .5 includes two solid plies l5 and 1 1 of leather or the like relatively stiff or rigid ma- .terial forming the uppe b y o p rmanent portion thereof.

While the uppe bo y o p ma e p r ion o the heel is illustrated a bein c mposed o two plies of'leathe o he like materials I d not intend to so mit my inve t o for u h upper body maybe form d of only one ply, .or if found d sirable may comprise more t an wo p i s, .1 do, how ver. d sire to poi t out h the upper body of th heel, in the i lu tr ted embodime t, he plies l5 and if? should provide a comparatively rigid support for the heel of the wearer of the shoe, asupport with substantially no give or .fleX under the wei ht of the heel of the wearer. The specific reasons and advanraces of su h construction W111 b ome apparen as the specification proceeds.

.Attached in any .d rabl man e to thelowermost my 1 of he upper body po on o the heel isl membe pr ri lge 1.9 of inverted cup shape to proidde a downwardly extending flan e 2|. The :bridge member i9 as may be Clearly recognized by referring to the drawings is of reduced proportions relative to the plies l and l! and is formed of a relatively stifi rigid material such as leather. I he vertical section I l of the intake duct extends through the plies l5 and H and the tube extension 13 of tube l extends through member I9 to project downwardly to be free thereof.

Metal, plastic or the like spacers 23 and comprising longitudinally elongated strips, are

secured to member I9 on each side of the intake I tube extension l3. Such spacers are of suflicient depth to project downwardly from memher. [9 a. distance greater than the free or exposed end of tube extension [3.

The body or ground contacting portion of the heel, which, as will become apparent hereinafter, forms the air pumping device or diaphragm of my invention iscomposed of a member of substantially cup shape which is indicated generally by the numeral 21. This cup shaped member is composed of a central ground contacting body portion forming a diaphragm 29 and a flange 3| which extends about the cen- H tral .bodyportion or diaphragm and, when the cup shaped member is applied in position on the heel the flange 3| embraces within the confines thereof the downwardly projecting flange 2! of member l9, and is in contact therewith; It will be readily recognized that cup shaped member, or lift 21 is secured to the heel byattaching the flange 3| to ply l1 and by attaching the contacting surfaces of the two flanges together. Sincefianges 2| and 3I are ofsubstantially the same depth it will b apparent that flange 2| will engage the upper surface of the diaphragm portion 29.0f, member 21 adjacent to the edge thereof. 7

By. the. novelconstruction, mounting and combination of members [9 and 21, an air reservoir, cavity or chamber 28 is. provided between said two members. and. into this reservoir the fresh air..intake duct empties. and the exposed end l3 extends, as do spacinglelements 23 and 25. Ipreferably form memberl'l of rubber 'or the like material, so that it, willpossess the quality of. flexibility. The member 27 may be. molded or. otherwise formed to provide abulge in the central body portion or diaphragm 29 thereof, so that the normal position thereof. is as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawingswith the diaphragm flexed outwardly away. from the remainder of theheel...

A deformable live rubber or the like stopper or valve 33 is mounted on and carried by the inner surface of diaphragm 29 to extend into the air reservoir, in position thereon disposed directly below the tube exposed end or extension 13, and a leather washer 35 is securedon top of the. stop-. per or. valve element 33.; It will be noticed that the top of the valve is spacedfrom theextension l3 when the diaphragm is in downwardly flexedor normal suction stroke end position. i

An exhaust duct 31 extends from air reservoir 28 upwardly through plies I5 and I7 and member-19.. The intake ofthe exhaust duct from the reservoir is'regulated by a valve 39 which in this particular instance is. illustrated as bein normally retained induct closing position by means of a weight 4h The exhaust duct extends horizontally forwardly of the shoe beneath the inner. sole thereof-as at 43 and is branched or forked at its forward end as at 45 and 47, the ends of the branches opening, into the ina into the shoe at variouspoints without depart ing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

i The pumping apparatus carried in the removable or lower part of the heel is illustrated in r Fig. 1 of the drawings with the diaphragm 29 lO-at the end of its suction stroke which occurs supply of fresh air.

H when the wearer is walking and the foot is 1ifted from the ground. As hereinbefore stated the lifter-ground engaging portion 2'|' of the heel is molded or otherwise formed so that the diaphragm portion 23 is normally in extended or suction stroke position. When the foot is lifted from the ground the diaphragm will move into the position of Fig. 1 of the drawings and fresh air will be drawn into and through the intake ducts l and 9, tube ll and extension l3 and into reservoir 23, valve 33 closing exhaust duct 31 immediately the suction stroke is commenced, hence the reservoir will be filled with a As the wearer steps down on the shoe the diaphragm will be compressed andthe compression stroke thereof will be effected. The air pressure within the reservoir,

upon diaphragm compression stroke, will open H valve 39 so that fresh air may flow into the 30 shoe interior through exhaust ducts 37, 43, 45, and 47. Consideration of the drawings, and particularly Fig. 2 thereof, shows the valve 33 will engage the free or exposed end of intake tube ll before the diaphragm completes the compression stroke, and will be deformed thereby' to contract about tube end 13 to completely close such tube against the admission of any air underapressure from the reservoirf The compression stroke of the diaphragm is completed 0 when the diaphragm comescinto contact with spacers 23 and 25 which are constructed in a manner to protect valve 39 from contact with the diaphragm, and to restrain the diaphragm on the compression stroke from extending far enough into the reservoir to snap upwardly thereinto, instead of automatically retulningto its flexed suction stroke position.

Upon normal wear of the heel as occurs in every shoe the members I9 and 21, which form a unit, may be renewed. Now it is important to understand that all of the operating elements are mounted in the renewable unit and hence no annoyance or difliculty is experienced in attaching a new heel to the shoe.

The renewable heel units are produced with the pumping apparatus and the ducts therein and the individual shoe repairman merely attaches such unit to the ply ll, the duct therein mating with the ducts in plies l5 and I1.

Itis significant to recognize my particular construction of heel whereby the ventilating effect is attained. by the pumping apparatus disclosed th'erein without in any way causing discomfort to the foot of the wearer of the shoe. In order for a shoe' to be comfortable at the heel portion thereof, it is essential that the footer heel of the wearer retain static contact with the bottom of the shoe, in other words, it is important that the innersole and the structure disposed therebelow be substantially constantly in snug contact with the'heel of the wearer. This requirement is completely and satisfactorily met by my structure. I dispose all of the pumping apparatus, including the movable diaphragm and thev reservoir, within the bottom of the heel, and between such elements and structure and the heel of the wearer there is a substantially stiff or rigid support for the heel of the wearer, comprising the plies l5 and H, as well as the member I9. Hence it will be recognized that constant engagement between the heel of the wearer and the heel of the shoe will result from my-novel structure and no rubbing, chaifing or the like will occur.

A further important factor which operates towards a satisfactory heel is the particular structure of member l9 having flange 2| which provides a hinge or fulcrum point from which the diaphragm reciprocates. This arrangement forms a support for the diaphragm and thereby reduces the wear on the diaphragm as well as on the entire lift, renewable or ground contacting portion of the heel.

In Figs, 4 and 5 of the drawings, I have illustrated a further embodiment of my invention and I have designated elements which are similar to those in the preferred embodiment of my invention with the same reference numerals, and since their operation and function is the same as in the preferred embodiment of my invention I will not now again describe them in detail. In this modification of my invention, I provide an intake duct 5| extending through the rear portion of the heel plies l5 and I1 and the member [9 for supplying fresh air to the pumping apparatus. A horizontally disposed section of the intake duct is designated by the numeral 53, this horizontal section extends through the flange 21 of member l9 to empty into the reservoir 28 provided in the heel. Instead of the deformable valve 33 of the preferred embodiment of my invention, I utilize a hinge-type gate valve 60 which is hinged as at 59 to the flange 2| to extend over the mouth of the intake duct. 53 for the regulation of the supply of fresh air. The valve itself comprises a metal portion 55 and a leather washer facing 51. It will be obvious that the metallic portion of the valve provides suificient weight to dispose the valve in closed position under certain operating conditions.

I provide a vertically disposed exhaust duct 6| which extends upwardly from the reservoir 28 through the plies l5 and I! to connect with the sole duct 43 for transmitting a supply of fresh air to and around the foot of the wearer of the shoe. Such duct BI is substantially one-third the diameter of the intake duct 5| for a purpose which will hereinafter be made clear.

When the diaphragm 29 is on the suction stroke the valve 60 is in open position due to the suction and air pressure applied thereto, to thereby cause a flow of fresh air to enter the reservoir through the ducts la and 5|. When the wearer steps upon the heel and the diaphragm is on its pressure stroke, the valve 55 is closed and air is forced through the ducts BI and 43 to flow about the foot of the wearer, It will be noticed that I do not utilize a valve in the exhaust duct in this form of my invention. However, it will be understood that when pressure is removed from the shoe and the diaphragm is in its suction stroke, the air will rush in from both the intake and exhaust duct, but since ducts 5i and 1a are substantially three times the diameter of duct 6|, it will be evident that a greater volume of air enters through duct 5| than through duct 6!. Thus a greater volume of fresh air than stale air is circulated by this particular form of my invention.

I claim:

1. Ventilating means for a shoe, comprising a heel having a cavity in the lower portion thereof,

6 substantially rigid foot supporting means disposed between the cavity and the inner sole of the shoe, an air intake tube projecting into the cavity and an air exhaust duct opening into the cavity, a flexible ground contacting lift portion of the heel, having in normal position a centrally disposed downwardly extending bulge therein, and control means for regulating the flow of air into the cavity, including an intake tube control member mounted on said flexible ground contacting lifting portion for movement therewith to engage the projecting portion of said air intake tube to close the same on the compression stroke of the flexible ground contacting lift portion.

2. Ventilating means for a shoe, comprising a heel having a cavity in the lower portion thereof, substantially rigid foot supporting means disposed between the cavity and the inner sole of the shoe, an air intake tube projecting into the cavity and an air exh aust duct opening into the cavity, a flexible ground contacting lift portion of the heel, havin in normal position a centrally disposed downwardly extending bulge therein and control means for regulating the flow of air into the cavity, including a deformable tube control member mounted on said flexible ground contacting lift portion for movement therewith engaging and contracting about the projecting portion of said air intake tube to close the same on the compression stroke of the flexible ground contacting lift portion.

3. In a shoe provided with a heel, said heel comprising an upper substantially rigid permanent portion and a lower renewable portion, said portions being removably attached together, said renewable portion including a flat member having a downwardly directed flange projecting from the marginal parts thereof, the member being of reduced dimensions relative to the permanent portion of the heel and removably secured to said permanent portion, and a flexible ground contacting portion having an upwardly directed marginal flange engaging and secured to said permanent portion and embracing and secured to said flange of said flat member, to provide a cavity between the flat and flexible members, said flexible member having, in normal position, a centrally disposed downwardly extending bulge therein, means for admitting and releasing air from the cavity under the action of the flexible member, and control means mounted within the renewable h'eel portion for regulating the flow of air into and out of the cavity.

RICHARD R. GANTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 572,103 Bresman Dec. 1, 1896 616,112 Kennedy Dec. 20, 1898 795,502 Gareau July 25, 1905 1,364,226 Wherry Jan. 4, 1921 1,423,445 Magaldi July 18, 1922 2,086,790 Wroten July 13, 1937 2,151,152 Riess Mar. 21, 1939 2,329,573 Ziegliss Sept. 14, 1943 2,397,413 Evans Mar. 26, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 340,098 Hefner Sept. 2, 1921 

